Texas Weddings 3 & 4

  Linda nodded. “Look what they’ve done with the place, Daddy,” Linda said with an admiring smile. “It’s beautiful. It hardly looks like the little house I grew up in.” She smiled as she looked at Kellie. “Not that that’s a bad thing. It looks great.”

  “Thank you. I’ll just get my husband and we’ll be right with you.” Kellie headed down the hallway to fetch Nathan.

  As he entered the living room, Nathan extended his hand. “Good to see you again, Mr. Henderson.”

  “None of this Mr. Henderson stuff,” the older man said with the wave of a hand. “Call me Chuck.”

  “Chuck.” Nathan nodded and sat on the couch next to Kellie. She gestured for Chuck and his daughter to sit across from them.

  “Nice to see you too. I. . .” Chuck hesitated and looked at his daughter, who gave him a reassuring nod. “I’ve been meaning to get by to talk to the two of you, anyway.”

  Ah. He’s wanting to come home sooner than expected. That will make things so much easier.

  “You have?” Nathan asked.

  Mr. Henderson looked down at his hands. “I have. And now that I’m here, I feel more confident than ever.” He looked around the room with an admiring expression on his face. “You have done wonders with the place, just like Linda said.”

  “Thank you.” Kellie and Nathan spoke in unison.

  “Not exactly my taste,” the older man acknowledged, “but still, it’s nice.”

  Kellie felt her cheeks flush. “Well, we can always re-carpet if you like.”

  “No, no.” His eyebrows furrowed a bit. “Don’t want you to do that. You’ve gone to a lot of trouble already.”

  “Well, it’s your home. Certainly we want you to. . .”

  “It’s like this,” Mr. Henderson interrupted. “I’ve decided not to come back.”

  “What?” Nathan’s face paled and Kellie was afraid for a moment he might overreact.

  An embarrassed grin crossed the older man’s face. “I never thought I’d live to see the day, but it turns out I like big city life.”

  His daughter rested her hand across her father’s arm. “We love having daddy with us in Austin. Our boys just adore him, and our house is so big. We’ve got plenty of room.”

  “They’ve got cable television.” Mr. Henderson grinned. “Two hundred channels.” He nodded matter-of-factly, as if that settled the deal.

  “So. . .” Kellie glanced at Nathan for help. “So. . . what were you thinking? You’re going to sell the house?”

  “That’s right.” The older man’s eyes shifted down to his hands. “Look, I know it’s not worth much. It’s not big city living, for sure. But it’s very homey, and it sure looks like you two have taken a liking to it.” He gestured with his hand. “You’ve pert near turned it into a palace. And besides. . .” He looked at his daughter once again. “I could sure use the money. Medicare covers most of my treatments, but I don’t have any real insurance to speak of.”

  Kellie felt a lump in her throat. How in the world can they tell him they planned to move out next week? “Oh, Mr. Henderson.”

  “Daddy tends to worry too much.” Linda patted her father’s hand. “I don’t really think there’s much to be concerned about financially, but it would ease his mind a great deal if he could sell the house. That would certainly be one less thing on his plate.”

  Nathan cleared his throat and looked Kellie’s direction. She wondered how in the world he would handle this, what he would say. His cheeks flushed red, a sure sign thoughts were stirring. But what sort of thoughts?

  “Would you excuse us a moment?” Nathan asked.

  He took Kellie by the hand and they made their way down the hall toward the master bedroom. They entered and sat on the bed. For a moment, neither of them said a word. Kellie finally broke the silence.

  “Oh, Nathan.” She buried her face in her hands. “What are we going to do?” She lifted her face to gaze into his eyes.

  He drew in a deep breath, forehead wrinkled. “Well, I have an idea. I don’t know how you’ll feel about it, but here goes. . .”

  As he laid out his plan, Kellie’s mind eased at once. Really, it was the only thing that made sense. Yes, it would require great sacrifice on their part, to be sure, but they had certainly grown accustomed to sacrifice over the past several months.

  Yes, she reasoned. This could work.

  With her husband’s hand tightly clutched in her own, Kellie traipsed back up the hallway to give Mr. Henderson the news.

  ***

  Nathan returned to Houston on Monday morning, his head full of ideas. He stopped by the condo on the way into the office to check the mail. He smiled as he looked around the place. Quite a contrast to our current living conditions. He and Kellie had nearly grown used to living with middle-of-the-road furnishings and appliances. But not for long.

  Their time in Greenvine was rapidly drawing to a close. Boxes were packed and cupboards nearly bare. Soon—in less than a week, in fact—they would be here again. Where they belonged. It would require at least one truckload of boxes, but they’d see to that this coming Saturday. Once they got settled in, he and Kellie would travel back and forth to Greenvine on the weekends, just as they had planned from the beginning.

  Not that he really minded the past few weeks. Truth be told, Nathan had grown to love the people of Greenvine. And all of the changes he and Kellie had faced over the past seven weeks had changed him into a better man.

  Nathan drew in a satisfied breath and thought about how he’d drawn closer to God during this season. And the Lord responded by speaking, giving direction. Nathan heard His voice clearly these days, certainly with much more clarity than in years past.

  His decision regarding the house in Greenvine had been God-inspired, to be sure. They would buy the property from Mr. Henderson and rent it out. With a little TLC, the home would make for a great investment.

  Of course, he must take care of the technicalities. A realtor would have to be hired and the repairs would need to take place right away in order for the house to pass inspection. But Nathan didn’t mind, especially since he wouldn’t be the one doing the work. He couldn’t. Not with so much going on already.

  “Nothing like taking a little more on your plate when it’s already full.” Nathan smiled. “But we’re getting pretty good at balancing a lot at once.”

  He pulled his car into the parking garage at the accounting firm and shut it down. For a moment, he leaned his head back against the headrest and prayed. All of the pieces to his puzzle seemed to be coming together. Well, almost all. . .

  Why couldn’t he get Greenvine’s financial problems off his mind?

  He knew why, of course. After several phone calls last Friday, the truth was clear. The city had been taken for a ride and had lost a small fortune, almost enough to sink them completely if someone didn’t intervene—and quickly.

  Nathan’s concern for his father-in-law deepened with each revelation. Kenton had been taken advantage of, to be sure. He had acted out of honesty and sincerity, and clearly felt awful about the whole thing. No one held him to blame. That’s how the people of Greenvine were. They cared far too much about him to point any fingers. And right now his health required that he remain positive, upbeat.

  Nathan sighed as he contemplated the most worrisome thing. His father-in-law’s ability to reason clearly had not returned—at least not in full. Perhaps in time. But for now, he simply couldn’t handle the situation. He could barely handle the small things, like dressing himself and fixing a bowl of cereal each morning. How could he be called upon to save the city from financial ruin?

  “Lord, I don’t understand. It’s just too much for one man to handle.” Nathan pursed his lips. “But what can I do? It’s too late to recoup their money.”

  The best chance the city of Greenvine stood right now was a concise, practical investment plan for the future. They’d probably need to raise taxes a bit to accomplish this and would certainly need someone they could trust to
advise them regarding future investments. Someone with a head for financial matters. And someone who genuinely cared about the townspeople—cared about more than their financial interests. Someone who cared about them as people, not as taxpayers.

  Nathan’s thoughts flashed back to the night he’d been honored as Man of the Year. What was it Mr. Abernathy had said of him? “Please welcome Nathan Fisher—a man with a head for numbers and a heart for the people. He’s tough, but kind, practical, but pliable. And he’s our Man of the Year at Siefert and Collins.”

  Nathan trembled as the words rolled through his memory. “Oh Lord, surely You’re not asking me to do this thing.” Surely not.

  He reached for his briefcase and sprinted from his car, forcing the ludicrous idea from his mind.

  seventeen

  Kellie paced around the house with a string of nonsensical prayers flowing. Lord, I don’t understand. What are You up to? Oh, Lord. I’m going to need your help.

  This changes everything.

  She stared down at the white plastic stick in her hand for the umpteenth time. Yep. Positive. Just like the last million times she’d looked at it.

  “A baby?” She spoke to the empty room. But how? They had been so careful. If truth stared her in the face, then the Lord certainly had a sense of humor.

  And interesting timing. Kellie plopped down onto the sofa, deep in thought. How in the world could she accomplish working full-time and raising a baby? And where would she raise it? There was certainly no room in their tiny condo for a child. One bedroom. One medium-sized, not-ready-for-anyone-else bedroom.

  And Nathan. What in the world would he think? Would he assume she had planned this deliberately to somehow trap him?

  “Oh, Lord. You’ve got to help me. I don’t know how to tell him.”

  Then again, she couldn’t go without telling him for long. Her own body had begun to betray her. What had started out as mere queasiness just a week ago had developed into full-blown sessions of toilet-hugging. Every morning for the past three days she’d spent more time in the bathroom than out. Thankfully, Nathan had already left for work before the episodes began.

  Clueless. He’s clueless.

  The phone rang and Kellie very nearly jumped out of her skin. She glanced at the Caller I.D. Nathan.

  She tried to sound as normal as possible as she answered. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Babe.” His cheery voice greeted her. “I just got to the office. Thought I’d call and check on you.”

  “Oh?”

  “You were sleeping like a rock when I left.” He sniggered. “I haven’t heard snoring like that in awhile.”

  She groaned. I’m snoring for two now. “I’m fine. I’m about to start packing up the bedroom. And I’ve got a couple of calls to make. Bernie wants me to come in Monday morning. I hope I’m up to it by then. This weekend is going to be crazy.” Maybe crazier than we thought.

  “I know. That’s part of the reason I’m calling. I rented a small moving truck. I’ll pick it up in Brenham on Friday night. I don’t think we’ll need anything more than that. And Frankie said he’ll come by Saturday morning to help load up. That means I just have to find someone to help once we get back to the condo.”

  “Right. Well, I appreciate him, for sure.” I sure can’t do any heavy lifting now.

  Kellie listened as Nathan carried on about how they would transport the two cars back and forth, but really didn’t take much in. Instead, her mind wandered to the obvious. She put her hand on her stomach and waited for something to happen.

  Nothing.

  “Kellie? You there?”

  She jolted back to reality as she heard Nathan’s voice. “Oh, yeah. I’m sorry. I’m just really distracted today. Too much on my mind.”

  “That will all end soon.” His voice resonated with calm, practical assurance. “Before you know it we’ll be back home and everything will be back to normal.”

  “Yeah.” She glanced down at the white stick. Still positive. “Back to normal.”

  “Well, almost normal anyway.” He paused for a moment and she felt a shift in the conversation. “Things at work are. . . strange. That’s the only way I can describe. Everything is so hush-hush around here today. I don’t know what’s up, but I get the feeling something’s about to blow.”

  “Yikes. No clues?”

  “No,” he said. “But I’m trying not to read too much into it. In fact, I’ve been a little distracted. To be honest, there’s something I can’t stop thinking about. Something completely unrelated to the firm.”

  As he paused, Kellie felt the queasiness return. She drew in a deep breath and waited for it to pass. “W. . .What do you mean?”

  “I, uh. . . I was just trying to figure out how to go about offering my help to your dad. I can’t get Greenvine’s financial issues off my mind.”

  “Ah. I see.” She ignored the tingling in her cheeks as she contemplated his words. Had the Lord really convinced him of this? Were they supposed to be getting involved, after all? “I’ve spent a lot of time praying and thinking about it, myself,” Kellie acknowledged. “And I really think we could help them. But it would take time. Effort.”

  “Right.” He sighed. “That’s the hard part. I don’t have a lot of time right now. And my efforts seem to be so divided already.” He sighed. “And once we get back home. . .” His voice trailed off. “I don’t know, Kell. It just seems impossible. But if it’s impossible, then why won’t the Lord leave me alone? Why does He keep dropping this into my heart, into my spirit?”

  The nausea settled down and Kellie was better able to focus on the conversation, to take in the full meaning of his words. “I can’t answer that, Babe,” she said finally. “But if God is speaking, all I can say is, we’d better be listening.”

  A dead silence permeated the air for a moment. When Nathan finally responded, his words startled her. “I don’t think I like what I’m hearing. Is that awful?”

  Kellie forced back a smile. If he thought his news complicated things, wait until he heard what she had to say.

  Another call interrupted them and Nathan had to leave abruptly. With the telephone still in her hand, Kellie looked heavenward. “Lord, I’m not sure what You’re up to. . .” She glanced at the house full of boxes. “But I hope You’ll show me before I pack another thing.”

  ***

  Nathan pulled his car into the condo’s parking garage. Great. Someone had taken his spot. Again. With frustration mounting, he drove up to the top floor and park on the roof. He needed time to think, anyway.

  He shut off the car and grabbed his laptop. With a determined stride, he headed for the elevator. All the way there, his thoughts jumped from one thing to another. The office. He couldn’t help but contemplate today’s revelations. Things at Seifert and Collins were definitely in a state of transition. Today, less than an hour ago, he’d been offered a new position at the firm.

  Partner.

  Finally, Nathan had been offered the coveted position he’d prayed for.

  “Why don’t I feel right about this? What’s wrong with me? I should be calling Kellie. I should be celebrating.”

  A “ding” brought him back to his senses. He stepped into the elevator and punched the number seven. Surely a good night’s sleep would put everything in perspective. He leaned back against the elevator wall and closed his eyes.

  By the time the elevator arrived at his floor, Nathan resolved himself to the inevitable. He must pick up the phone and let Kellie know, even if she recognized the discomfort in his voice. He must keep this ball rolling. It was too late to stop it now.

  He trudged along the hallway until he reached the door of his condominium. The maintenance man greeted him just outside.

  “Good evening, Mr. Fisher.”

  Nathan eyed him suspiciously. “Bobby. Is everything okay?”

  “Well. . .”

  “It’s okay. Just tell me, whatever it is.”

  Bobby tucked a flashlight into his tool bag. “T
he A/C unit froze up this morning. We’ve had to shut everything down in order to thaw it out. We’ll probably have everything up and running by tomorrow.”

  “Right. Tomorrow.”

  Nathan pulled at his collar as he braved the heat inside the condo. He checked the thermostat. 82 degrees. “It’s not even summer yet. Why is it so ridiculously hot?”

  Nathan pulled off his shirt and slacks and slipped into a t-shirt and shorts. Then he scrounged around in the kitchen, looking for something to eat. They would have to do some heavy-duty grocery shopping once they got settled in. For now, he settled on a can of soup and some stale crackers.

  He settled onto the sofa with a bowl in hand. As he ate, Nathan reached for the remote control. He listened to the evening news in shocked silence. Were the stories always this negative, or was his hometown just suffering a particularly bad day?

  He switched the channel, settling on an old movie. Not five minutes in, he muted the television and picked up the telephone to call Kellie. He needed to hear her voice, and needed to tell her about his promotion. She would cheer him up. She would bring everything into balance.

  Kellie answered with an unusually weary sound to her voice. She went on to assure him everything was fine, but the conversation left Nathan feeling uneasy. As he told her about the partnership, he expected to hear rejoicing on the other end of the phone. For some reason, her voice seemed to choke up.

  She’s just happy for me.

  She ended the call rather abruptly—something about needing to turn off the bath water. Nathan tried to take it all in stride, but felt in his spirit something was wrong. Off.

  He dropped into bed a little before nine, completely exhausted and genuinely frustrated. His thoughts shifted for hours between the job, the sale of the house and Greenvine’s financial problems. Sleeping was out of the question, especially with the heat presenting such an issue.

  At 2:15 he arose from the bed and walked out onto the balcony. He stood in silence for a moment as he rubbed at his aching brow. The hum of traffic from the street below provided the perfect backdrop. Nathan dropped into the deck chair and leaned back with his eyes closed. He couldn’t possibly make it through this night without focusing. . .